Re: Where does TV poker coveage ad money go?
resboard, what are you talking about? Nobody but you mentioned anything about cheating. And nobody said anybody was doing anything wrong, they just said where is the money going, and why aren't the players getting any of it?
The events are not televised by the casinos, they are televised by ESPN, WPT, etc. These people who make the tv shows don't pay anything to run the tournament, rent the space, or the stuff like that. The tv people only pay the camera crews and such, the direct costs of filming and televising the show.
Then, in most and possibly all cases, the casino pays money to the production company. For sure the WPT host casinos and Harrahs pay money to the WPT and ESPN, respectively. Then, the production companies make more money by selling ads.
It is, of course, true, that nobody is forcing anybody to play in these events, so the production companies and casinos are not stealing, per se. However, that doesn't mean that a more equitable split of the money wouldn't see some of the TV profits going to the players, it just means that the players don't have any power or ability, at least for now, to force such an equitable split. If we are ever able to effectively unionize, or some such arrangement, then we would have such power, and as a group we would make more money. It was very hard for each of the different major pro sports to unionize, and it will be infinitely harder for poker pros to ever do so, as the public is much less able to distinguish the talent level of a top pro from that of a second tier pro when watching them on tv. When it comes to football pros or the like, it is apparent to fans that they are watching a top pro, or not.
Later, Greg Raymer (FossilMan)
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